Geared for Health - Asean's Growing Medical and Healthcare Industry

Middle-income earners are on the rise across the Association of South-East Asian Nations’ (Asean), a demographic shift that is driving demand for better healthcare and medical devices that facilitate more efficient treatment.

Geared for Health - Asean's Growing Medical and Healthcare Industry

Pacific Bridge Medical forecasts this dynamic will help double the value of the medical device market in the region - whose 10 members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - from US$4.6 billion in 2013 to US$9 billion by 2019. Other factors, such as the implementation of new public health policies and an ageing population, will further support the sector’s growth in the mid-term. As a result, medical equipment manufacturers are increasing their focus on Asean as a key growth market. Other positive factors include:

Asean is home to 620 million people and the world’s third largest workforce.

The region’s economic output is US$2.4 trillion, the seventh largest in the world and above India and will become the fifth largest economy by 2050 (source: McKinsey Global Institute).

Some 125 million households will enter the middle-income bracket by 2025, representing an increase of 87 per cent (source: McKinsey Global Institute).

The region benefits from a bi-modal population. While half of those living in Asean are under 30, there are more than 55 million people over the age of 60, a population larger than Korea and equivalent to that in South Africa(source: United Nations Population Fund).

There is increasing intervention by the public sector in terms of the investment in the healthcare sector and the level of spending.